A Secret Kiss

by Alexia Praks

  Chapter 30

  A Tormented Love

  Once she was in her room alone, she breathed a sigh of relief. Living with seven men was too much for her, she decided.

  She dug her hand in her satchel and took out the pieces of papers Ned had given her. Thank God none of them saw the contents. Of course she knew they didn’t care anyway, but she didn’t want people to know what she was up to. It was her business after all.

  She put the papers on the study desk and then went to shower. Fifteen minutes later when she came back out, she was wearing her cotton pajama shirt and shorts, her long hair fresh and clean though still slightly damp because she couldn’t be bothered with drying it properly, and her skin was soft and smooth after she moisturized herself with lotion. She actually felt rather tired and in fact was ready for bed when she spotted the pair of recently cleaned socks that Darcy had put on her feet yesterday morning back at the pool. Suddenly, her heart fluttered within her chest. Darcy! Should she go and return those to him now?

  She picked up the pair of socks and poked her head out the door. Coast clear, she thought and rushed across the corridor to Darcy’s room. She lightly knocked, hoping like hell he wasn’t in. That way she could just drop the socks off and run back to her own room ASAP, and he would be none the wiser.

  A few seconds later when there was no sound, she tried the door. It wasn’t locked. She turned the knob and slipped in.

  She wasn’t surprised at all to see that his room was meticulously clean and tidy. She knew Darcy allowed no one to enter his room, nor did he ever allow the maid to clean it either. His room was his sanctuary, his private haven, and of course Sakura didn’t want to get caught red-handed. He’d probably get so pissed with her that he might just—

  She paused. What would he do now that he was a grown man if he were to catch her in his room? She didn’t know and didn’t want to think about it and hence turned to inspect his room instead.

  The design was very masculine with a muted gray color scheme. The large king-size bed sat to one side while the study desk and chair, very modern and sleek, sat near the window. If the person who sat in that very comfy chair there decided to lift his head, he would see the lovely view of the pond outside. Sakura cocked her head to one side, wondering if he’d seen her many times on the dragon bridge.

  On top of the desk was his laptop and digital drawing gear. She wondered if he did digital art. Then she swore at herself. Of course he did. After all, he was one of the best game creators and designers for his and Hayden’s gaming company.

  Then something caught her attention. It was a gigantic digital art poster on one side of the wall. She caught her breath, truly amazed at the artwork. To say it was fantastic was an understatement. It took her breath away the moment she set her eyes on it.

  It was set in a fantasy world with a gothic castle and a cherry tree in full bloom in the background. However, what really fascinated her was the central picture of the dark knight and a fair maiden. The pair caused her insides to shiver with something akin to pleasure and delight.

  The knight was in gothic fantasy, medieval war clothing, had long, sinful black hair, which was tied back, and had one hand holding a dangerous-looking long, kickass sword that gave her the impression he’d use it to slay any monsters that dared to come his way. The other of his long, masculine hands was embracing the beyond-beautiful maiden.

  Sakura could only stare, wondering if any woman in existence could compare to this exquisite beauty in the poster. She had long black hair, her skin petal white, and her lips a ruby-red color. She wore a fantasy-type medieval gown the color of azure with gold trimming which seemed to enhance her beauty even more. Her long hair flowed down to her waist, and her slender arms embraced the knight, her face soft with love as she gazed up at him.

  Sakura’s breathing suddenly became short and fast. She was lost in a different world as she continued to stare at the poster.

  Suddenly, the door opened and Sakura gasped in fright, twisting herself around to witness Darcy coming in.

  The moment Darcy closed the door and raised her head, he could only stare in shocked surprise to see his adopted sister in his bedroom. His heart began to thump loud in his chest, like an African drum beating under the moonlight. He gazed at her, taking in the wild hair, the soft skin, the bare legs, and the bright eyes. Holy shit! She is hot. There were butterflies within the pit of his stomach and his body ached with longing.

  They continued to stare at each other in silence, totally surprised and totally lost as to what to do.

  “Is he in?” Conrad’s voice traveled to them from outside the bedroom door. Then a triple knock followed.

  Sakura gasped. She realized Conrad was about to come in.

  “He’s not in,” they heard Hayden mutter. “And why do you want to see Darcy’s new project? He’s still working on it.”

  “Just want a peek,” Conrad said. “You did say he printed out some of the artwork, didn’t you? And you did approve him to continue, so I want to see since I’m going to be your beta tester. Besides, it was your bloody fault. If you hadn’t told me there was a character that looks exactly like me, then I wouldn’t have been so curious.”

  Suddenly the doorknob wriggled.

  Darcy took action. He grabbed the surprised Sakura by the arm and pulled her along with him toward the walk-in closet. He shoved the door open and hastily nudged her in.

  Sakura gasped when she found him in the closet with her. Then she watched him hastily close the door behind him. She tried to breathe normally, but it was so difficult with him literally squishing her against the wall. Oh God! She could feel him—the whole length of his person against her—his long, muscular legs, his firm chest, his chin on the top of her head, his warm breath on her, and yes, even that private part of his as well. She blushed in the darkness and nibbled her lower lip with nervousness.

  Darcy too felt her—all of her—against him, and it brought forward a wonderful pleasure in his being. He gazed down at her in the darkness, wanting to do more to her than he was allowed. Oh, God! She was so soft against him, and her subtle breasts were squished up against his muscular chest. Shit!

  “Darcy?” Conrad’s voice came through to them. A moment later, “He’s not in.” They heard the brothers coming into the room, their feet loud on the floor. Then they heard Hayden’s voice saying, “He’s probably at the pool, fantasizing about his characters again.”

  Conrad laughed. “That means we have plenty of time to sneak around.”

  Sakura felt Darcy’s body stiffen. She wanted to laugh at Conrad’s words. It was so like him to do just that, poking around his brother’s room. She also knew Darcy didn’t like people searching his private stuff and wondered if he was pissed with Conrad. She tried to see what his reaction was by lifting her head to sneak a peek at him. Instead, however, her head bumped against his chin. She gasped and automatically touched his face. “So sorry,” she whispered, her warm breath tingling his skin.

  “I can’t find it!” Conrad announced loudly.

  “It might be in the closet.” Hayden suggested.

  “Oh, you’re right,” Conrad said, chuckling.

  “Shit!” Darcy swore under his breath. The closet door suddenly yanked open, and Darcy thrust himself in farther, squeezing Sakura even more against the wall.

  Thank God for the many clothes hiding their bodies so Conrad couldn’t actually see them. He was too busy searching for the folder containing Darcy’s character sheets for his new project.

  Sakura found she couldn’t breathe, and her face was literally snuggling against Darcy’s chest. Oh, God, she could smell him. The smell of Darcy she remembered so long ago. She closed her eyes, and the memory came rushing back to her in full force.

  It had been a rainy night, and she’d just had a nightmare about the orphanage and the fire. She’d been crying until her eyes were red and her cheeks were raw, afraid and alone. It had been then when she heard the door open. A few
moments later, she felt a boy’s hand touching her face.

  “You’re crying, Snow,” he said softly.

  Sakura had turned to look at him. “I had a nightmare,” she told him.

  He smiled at her and hastily settled himself between the sheets beside her. “I’ll protect you,” he said, pulling her into his small arms.

  Sakura had taken the chance and eagerly snuggled her face against his chest. At that moment, his presence, his warmth, and his smell had eased her fear of her nightmare and eventually she had fallen asleep, feeling safe and loved in his arms.

  Now Sakura felt exactly like that. His presence, his warmth against her, and his smell—they all brought back that wonderful, warm feeling she always had when he was near her. At that realization, her heart began to beat faster, and her pulse refused to calm down. Suddenly, she realized his lips were on her forehead, and in response, her insides quivered with pleasure, causing her head to spin with delight.

  Darce, she whispered internally. Please, Darce, come back to me.

  This closeness was driving Darcy crazy. God, how much longer could he handle this? How much longer could he control himself from ravishing this woman before him? Suddenly, he felt her hands moving down his torso. Oh, God! Did she realize her movements were intoxicating him? That her light, feathery touches were like a caress, teasing him, letting him taste the forbidden pleasure he so wanted?

  His heart trembled with longing and he couldn’t control himself any longer. He grabbed a bunch of her long hair in his hand and brought it up to his nose and lips. Oh, God! She smelled beautiful. She smelled of spring. His insides ached to hold her, to kiss her, to make love to her. But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t because she hated his guts. She would refuse him. And what if he couldn’t control himself then? He would hurt her, and he never ever wanted to hurt her.

  He tightened his fists in anguish as he inhaled the sweet scent of her hair, his whole body trembling.

  Snow, he thought sadly, this is as close as I can get to you.

  He tried to calm this powerful passion he had for this woman by taking deep, shaky breaths, her long hair still in his hands, unseen by Sakura in the darkness.

  “I can’t find it,” Conrad said loudly.

  “Maybe it’s better if we ask him,” Hayden suggested, heading out the door. “Besides, I don’t think he’ll let you see it until he’s sure it’s ready.”

  Conrad muttered under his breath. “What did he call his new project again?”

  “Snow White and the Seven Knights,” Hayden said, managing to hide a chuckle.

  “Snow White and the Seven Knights?” Conrad laughed. “Sounds so cliché.”

  Darcy wasn’t paying attention to what Conrad said. In fact, if he were to pay attention, he would have jumped out of the closet and bashed his brother in the face for insulting his beloved project. He was, however, too busy trying to calm himself down from wanting the woman squeezing right next to him, tempting him with her soft body and spring scent.

  The door closed. Darcy didn’t move and stood there, gazing down at her.

  Though she didn’t want to move from the spot because it felt so right for them to just stand there, their bodies so close they could be connected, Sakura knew it wasn’t right and thought perhaps Darcy was just dying to get out. So she cleared her throat and said softly, “I think they’re gone.”

  Darcy got his wits back and reluctantly moved, pulling her along with him out of the closet.

  Outside, Sakura didn’t dare look at him for fear that his angry face would scare the hell out of her. Instead she picked up the socks she’d dropped and handed them to him. “Sorry I came in without permission.”

  Darcy wanted to tell her that she could come in whenever she liked, preferably at night, and that he wouldn’t mind her sleeping on his bed either, like she had when they were children.

  “Thanks for the socks,” she said and hastily walked to the door.

  Darcy desperately wanted to pull her back into his arms, but it seemed he couldn’t move from his spot. He watched her go, his heart hurting so bad he wanted to cry in anguish.

  Alone, he turned to gaze at the digital poster he’d drawn of the knight and the maiden. At the bottom, it read Snow White and the Seven Knights.

  “Snow,” he said softly under his breath.